Sanggeun Lee

A highly sensitive hydrogen sensor with gas selectivity using a PMMA membrane-coated Pd nanoparticle/single-layer graphene hybrid.

A polymer membrane-coated palladium (Pd) nanoparticle (NP)/single-layer graphene (SLG) hybrid sensor was fabricated for highly sensitive hydrogen gas (H2) sensing with gas selectivity. Pd NPs were deposited on SLG via the galvanic displacement reaction between graphene-buffered copper (Cu) and Pd ion. During the galvanic displacement reaction, graphene was used as a buffer layer, which transports electrons from Cu for Pd to nucleate on the SLG surface. The deposited Pd NPs on the SLG surface were well-distributed with high uniformity and low defects. The Pd NP/SLG hybrid was then coated with polymer membrane layer for the selective filtration of H2. Because of the selective H2 filtration effect of the polymer membrane layer, the sensor had no responses to methane, carbon monoxide, or nitrogen dioxide gas. On the contrary, the PMMA/Pd NP/SLG hybrid sensor exhibited a good response to exposure to 2% H2: on average, 66.37% response within 1.81 min and recovery within 5.52 min. In addition, reliable and repeatable sensing behaviors were obtained when the sensor was exposed to different H2 concentrations ranging from 0.025 to 2%.

Graphene as an atomically thin barrier to Cu diffusion into Si

The evolution of copper-based interconnects requires the realization of an ultrathin diffusion barrier layer between the Cu interconnect and insulating layers. The present work reports the use of atomically thin layer graphene as a diffusion barrier to Cu metallization. The diffusion barrier performance is investigated by varying the grain size and thickness of the graphene layer; single-layer graphene of average grain size 2 ± 1 μm (denoted small-grain SLG), single-layer graphene of average grain size 10 ± 2 μm (denoted large-grain SLG), and multi-layer graphene (MLG) of thickness 5-10 nm. The thermal stability of these barriers is investigated after annealing Cu/small-grain SLG/Si, Cu/large-grain SLG/Si, and Cu/MLG/Si stacks at different temperatures ranging from 500 to 900 °C. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy analyses confirm that the small-grain SLG barrier is stable after annealing up to 700 °C and that the large-grain SLG and MLG barriers are stable after annealing at 900 °C for 30 min under a mixed Ar and H2 gas atmosphere. The time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) test is used to evaluate graphene as a Cu diffusion barrier under real device operating conditions, revealing that both large-grain SLG and MLG have excellent barrier performance, while small-grain SLG fails quickly. Notably, the large-grain SLG acts as a better diffusion barrier than the thicker MLG in the TDDB test, indicating that the grain boundary density of a graphene diffusion barrier is more important than its thickness. The near-zero-thickness SLG serves as a promising Cu diffusion barrier for advanced metallization.

Synthesis of Few-Layered Graphene Nanoballs with Copper Cores Using Solid Carbon Source

We report the fabrication of graphene-encapsulated nanoballs with copper nanoparticle (Cu NP) cores whose size range from 40 nm to 1 μm using a solid carbon source of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The Cu NPs were prone to agglomerate during the annealing process at high temperatures of 800 to 900 °C when gas carbon source such as methane was used for the growth of graphene. On the contrary, the morphologies of the Cu NPs were unchanged during the growth of graphene at the same temperature range when PMMA coating was used. The solid source of PMMA was first converted to amorphous carbon layers through a pyrolysis process at the temperature regime of 400 °C, which prevented the Cu NPs from agglomeration, and they were converted to few-layered graphene (FLG) at the elevated temperatures. Raman and transmission electron microscope analyses confirmed the synthesis of FLG with thickness of approximately 3 nm directly on the surface of the Cu NPs. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses, along with electrical resistance measurement according to temperature changes showed that the FLG-encapsulated Cu NPs were highly resistant to oxidation even after exposure to severe oxidation conditions.

Capillary force-induced glue-free printing of Ag nanoparticle arrays for highly sensitive SERS substrates.

The fabrication of well-ordered metal nanoparticle structures onto a desired substrate can be effectively applied to several applications. In this work, well-ordered Ag nanoparticle line arrays were printed on the desired substrate without the use of glue materials. The success of the method relies on the assembly of Ag nanoparticles on the anisotropic buckling templates and a special transfer process where a small amount of water rather than glue materials is employed. The anisotropic buckling templates can be made to have various wavelengths by changing the degree of prestrain in the fabrication step. Ag nanoparticles assembled in the trough of the templates via dip coating were successfully transferred to a flat substrate which has hydrophilic surface due to capillary forces of water. The widths of the fabricated Ag nanoparticle line arrays were modulated according to the wavelengths of the templates. As a potential application, the Ag nanoparticle line arrays were used as SERS substrates for various probing molecules, and an excellent surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) performance was achieved with a detection limit of 10(-12) M for Rhodamine 6G.

Textile-Based Electronic Components for Energy Applications: Principles, Problems, and Perspective

Textile-based electronic components have gained interest in the fields of science and technology. Recent developments in nanotechnology have enabled the integration of electronic components into textiles while retaining desirable characteristics such as flexibility, strength, and conductivity. Various materials were investigated in detail to obtain current conductive textile technology, and the integration of electronic components into these textiles shows great promise for common everyday applications. The harvest and storage of energy in textile electronics is a challenge that requires further attention in order to enable complete adoption of this technology in practical implementations. This review focuses on the various conductive textiles, their methods of preparation, and textile-based electronic components. We also focus on fabrication and the function of textile-based energy harvesting and storage devices, discuss their fundamental limitations, and suggest new areas of study.

Fabrication of Transferable Al2O3 Nanosheet by Atomic Layer Deposition for Graphene FET

Without introducing defects in the monolayer of carbon lattice, the deposition of high-κ dielectric material is a significant challenge because of the difficulty of high-quality oxide nucleation on graphene. Previous investigations of the deposition of high-κ dielectrics on graphene have often reported significant degradation of the electrical properties of graphene. In this study, we report a new way to integrate high-κ dielectrics with graphene by transferring a high-κ dielectric nanosheet onto graphene. Al2O3 film was deposited on a sacrificial layer using an atomic layer deposition process and the Al2O3 nanosheet was fabricated by removing the sacrificial layer. Top-gated graphene field-effect transistors were fabricated and characterized using the Al2O3 nanosheet as a gate dielectric. The top-gated graphene was demonstrated to have a field-effect mobility up to 2200 cm(2)/(V s). This method provides a new method for high-performance graphene devices with broad potential impacts reaching from high-frequency high-speed circuits to flexible electronics.

A Droplet-Based High-Throughput SERS Platform on a Droplet-Guiding-Track-Engraved Superhydrophobic Substrate

A novel droplet-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensor for high-throughput real-time SERS monitoring is presented. The developed sensors are based on a droplet-guiding-track-engraved superhydrophobic substrate covered with hierarchical SERS-active Ag dendrites. The droplet-guiding track with a droplet stopper is designed to manipulate the movement of a droplet on the superhydrophobic substrate. The superhydrophobic Ag dendritic substrates are fabricated through a galvanic displacement reaction and subsequent self-assembled monolayer coating. The optimal galvanic reaction time to fabricate a SERS-active Ag dendritic substrate for effective SERS detection is determined, with the optimized substrate exhibiting an enhancement factor of 6.3 × 105 . The height of the droplet stopper is optimized to control droplet motion, including moving and stopping. Based on the manipulation of individual droplets, the optimized droplet-based real-time SERS sensor shows high resistance to surface contaminants, and droplets containing rhodamine 6G, Nile blue A, and malachite green are successively controlled and detected without spectral interference. This noble droplet-based SERS sensor reduces sample preparation time to a few seconds and increased detection rate to 0.5 µL s-1 through the simple operation mechanism of the sensor. Accordingly, our sensor enables high-throughput real-time molecular detection of various target analytes for real-time chemical and biological monitoring.

Coupled self-assembled monolayer for enhancement of Cu diffusion barrier and adhesion properties†

In this work, we have demonstrated chemically coupled (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS) and 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) to enhance the diffusion barrier properties against copper (Cu) as well as the adhesion properties towards SiO2 and Cu electrode. The coupled-SAM (C-SAM) can attach to both Cu and SiO2 strongly which is expected to enhance both the diffusion barrier and adhesion properties. A carbodiimide-mediated amidation process was used to link NH2 terminated APTMS to COOH terminated MPA. The resulting C-SAM shows a low root-mean-square roughness of 0.44 nm and a thickness of 2 nm. Time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) tests are used to evaluate APTMS and C-SAM for their ability to block Cu ion diffusion. The average time-to-failure (TTF) is enhanced over 4 times after the MPA attachment, and is even comparable to TaN barriers. Capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements are also conducted to monitor Cu ion diffusion. Negligible change in the flatband voltage and C–V curve is observed during the constant voltage stress C–V measurement. Enhancement of the adhesion properties are measured using four-point bending tests and shows that the C-SAM has a 33% enhancement in the adhesion properties between SiO2 and Cu compared to APTMS. The C-SAM shows potential as an ultra-thin Cu diffusion barrier which also has good adhesion properties.

Ultrafast single-droplet bouncing actuator with electrostatic force on superhydrophobic electrodes

The ultrafast bouncing motion of a liquid droplet has been investigated for droplet manipulation with a single droplet actuator using an electrostatic force for the first time. Under an electrostatic field, various kinds of liquid droplets (e.g. deionized water and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) solution) were rapidly bounced between two superhydrophobic electrodes, one from a capacitive electrode and another from a stage electrode. They were formed by sequential processes of a galvanic displacement method and the coating of a self-assembled monolayer on circular-patterned Cu films on a printed circuit board substrate. The frequency of the bouncing motion of the droplets reached up to 0.57 kHz and 0.71 kHz for water and PEDOT:PSS solution, respectively. Furthermore, the effects of the droplet volume, different types of liquid material such as water and conducting polymer solution, and applied voltages on the droplet bouncing motion were fully analyzed. A charge transfer between the droplet surface and the super-hydrophobic electrodes leads to droplet bouncing and its repetitive charging/discharging process across two electrodes results in a continuous bouncing operation. We successfully measured the transferred current of nA level from several single droplets under rapidly-bouncing motion via the stage electrode. This rapidly-bouncing droplet actuator using electrostatic force can be effectively used for various chemical and biological applications due to its high-speed, contamination-free and facile method.

Highly Stable Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Substrates Using Few-Layer Graphene on Silver Nanoparticles

Graphene can be effectively applied as an ultrathin barrier for fluids, gases, and atoms based on its excellent impermeability. In this work, few-layer graphene was encapsulated on silver (Ag) nanoparticles for the fabrication of highly stable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates, which has strong resistance to oxidation of the Ag nanoparticles. The few-layer graphene can be successfully grown on the surface of the Ag nanoparticles through a simple heating process. To prevent the agglomeration of the Ag nanoparticles in the fabrication process, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) layers were used as a solid carbon source instead of methane (CH4) gas generally used as a carbon source for the synthesis of graphene. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra of the few-layer graphene-encapsulated Ag nanoparticles indicate that the few-layer graphene can protect the Ag nanoparticles from surface oxidation after intensive annealing processes in ambient conditions, giving the highly stable SERS substrates. The Raman spectra of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) deposited on the stable SERS substrates exhibit maintenance of the Raman signal intensity despite the annealing process in air. The facile approach to fabricate the few-layer graphene-encapsulated Ag nanoparticles can be effectively useful for various applications in chemical and biological sensors by providing the highly stable SERS substrates.